Land Use Advisor

Job summary

Never has there been a more important time for trees and forests to help tackle the climate emergency and provide a much-needed sanctuary for people and wildlife.

The Land Use Advisor role will inform and encourage farmers and other land managers, to consider how woodland creation and management can help meet their objectives for their land. You will work closely with a broad range of land managers and stakeholders and will have a sound understanding of land management and/or agriculture complemented by an understanding of forestry.

If you are passionate about the role forestry can play in creating a better future for England, and want to play a part in that, we want to hear from you. You will be joining a team of committed colleagues, and you will have the opportunity to build on a wealth of expertise to take our ambitious programme of woodland creation forward.

You will be able to make your mark by helping the Forestry Commission reach new audiences and accelerate the rate of woodland creation in England.

Our staff engagement levels are consistently well above the Civil Service average and staff turnover is well below.

Job description

Key Work Areas

• Plan and prioritise engagement with landowners and managers based on Area plans and priorities, and relevant data available, working closely with Area team colleagues.
• Meet landowners and managers to assess their business requirements, conduct whole holding or business reviews, where appropriate and identify woodland creation and management opportunities that meet the landowner’s objectives.
• Develop a local network with the forestry and land management sector, sharing skills and knowledge with advisors and those supporting land-use decisions.
• Approach and engage with local advisors/agents/stakeholder networks offering information on woodland creation.
• Attend events to talk directly to farmers/landowners engaging in proactive lead generation/targeting and to provide advice on woodland creation.
• Assist with the planning and delivery of local networking events and agricultural shows.
• Engage with existing and new customers and stakeholders to strengthen understanding and awareness of the woodland creation offer, building on established relationships there might be with other Area team members.
• Manage customer journey from initial engagement through to the point of proceeding with woodland creation project, liaising with the Woodland Creation Officer and Woodland Officer.
• Keep lead tracker system information up to date, following up on all leads and tracking prospective customers.
• Support the roll out of a new Customer Engagement Tracker..
• Collect and feedback intelligence to inform development or improvement of promotional tools, and to inform improvements to the woodland creation offer.
• Provide content input to promotional materials as subject matter expert.
• Maintain an overview of current agricultural economics and markets and those for forestry to enable an understanding of challenges and opportunities in the land management sector.

The role will report to the North East Partnerships and Expertise Manager.

The duties of this post require the applicant to have a full current driving licence that enables them to drive in the UK. However, the Forestry Commission is willing to consider any proposals put forward by applicants that would allow them to do the job by any other means.

If your home is outside North East England you will be expected to travel to your work area in your own time and at your own cost.

Person specification

Essential

• Agricultural/environmental/forestry degree or equivalent qualification or considerable relevant experience.
• Sound technical understanding of land management and/or agriculture, able to understand estate/farm business objectives and current agricultural landscape.
• Experience of advising on and designing land management proposals.
• Strong interpersonal and influencing skills.
• Experience of successfully building and maintaining relationships and networks.
• Highly organised and a proactive communicator.
• Team player, able to work effectively with colleagues.
• Competent with IT systems and Microsoft Office.

Please clearly demonstrate how the above applies to you throughout your application. Failure to do so will mean that your application is sifted out.

We welcome applications from candidates who are currently completing a relevant degree or Higher National Diploma. However, successful applicants must obtain their degree or diploma within the first 6 months of employment.

Desirable

• Working knowledge of forestry.
• FACTS and/or BASIS qualifications advantageous, and/or member of Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.
• Existing landowner/stakeholder networks.
• Experience in GIS software.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Managing a Quality Service
• Seeing the Big Picture

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• You will be asked to complete a task/presentation at interview stage. Further details will be provided to those invited to interview.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £40,388, Forestry Commission contributes £11,700 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension (opens in a new window) with an employer contribution of 28.97%
• A range of wellbeing benefits including discounted Civil Service Healthcare, access to an Employee Assistance Programme 24/7, Bike to Work Scheme, plus many more.
• 25 days annual leave, with 1 additional day for each years’ service up to 5 years (pro rata), plus 10.5 bank holidays/privilege days (pro rata).
• Ability to buy or sell 5 days annual leave.
• 3 days volunteering per year (pro rata).

We aim to provide a great place to work, whichever location you work from. Blended working forms part of our flexible and inclusive approach to future ways of working. It is an informal arrangement which gives you the option to work some of the week from home, and some of the week from our Forestry Commission workplaces, subject to role requirements, business needs, and regular review. Informal blended working arrangements will be available as agreed with the line manager. Further information will be available for candidates invited to interview.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our